Visitors give Hong Kong food carnival at Victoria Park thumbs down, citing heat and poor sampling choices
- At least 10 visitors of festival showcasing mainland food cultures say they spent less than HK$500
- A number complained that they could not sample products at some of carnival’s 220 booths
A five-day food festival has kicked off at Hong Kong’s Victoria Park for a second consecutive year, but visitors have given it poor initial reviews, blaming a lack of sampling choices – and the hot weather – for their reluctance to spend.
“I wanted to try some red wine from Ningxia, but [the staff] said they had no samples. I didn’t get to taste it, nor even sniff it. How will that convince me to buy it? It’s ridiculous,” complained Keen Tsoi, a 67-year-old security guard who attended the carnival with his wife on Sunday.
Housewife Josephine Tse, 38, left the carnival with her six-year-old son Kenji after buying two skewers of toffeed strawberries.
“The weather is just way too hot and steamy,” Tse said. “My son is drenched in sweat even under an umbrella.”
The Hong Kong Observatory recorded a maximum temperature of 31 degrees Celsius over the day, with the low at 26 degrees.
Young coconut, coconut water and chilled herbal tea were among the most popular products, with one stall selling drinks such as sweetcorn milk and corn tea at HK$100 per seven bottles.
One exhibitor from Xinjiang, surnamed Mo, said she was concerned that the fewer-than-expected number of early visitors would affect the overall turnout, even though she had set a modest target of earning HK$100,000 over the five days.
“The number of people seems fewer compared to other trade fairs in Hong Kong, such as the Brands and Products Expo,” she said, referring to the yearly exhibition held by the Chinese Manufacturers’ Association of Hong Kong, also hosted at Victoria Park.
“Hometown Market” was launched on Saturday and will run until Wednesday.
The organisers’ choice of timing and venue had previously raised eyebrows, as the festival is taking place where past candlelight vigils to commemorate the Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing had been held.
Residents had gathered annually in Victoria Park on June 4 - the date of the crackdown in 1989 - until authorities banned the event in 2020 amid public health concerns during the Covid-19 pandemic. No vigils have been held since.
Pro-Beijing community groups were permitted to host the first “Hometown Market” last year.
This year, 28 clan organisations, including from Tianjin, Shaanxi and Guangxi, are taking part, with more than 220 booths selling specialities from different provinces.
Chan Lai-on, president of the Federation Of Hong Kong Yunfu Community Organisations, said that with tour groups also visiting, he was expecting sales to increase by about 15 per cent from last year.
He said the government had waived rent for stalls this year, and organisers had been given subsidies.
Sichuan tourist Debbie Zhong, 24, was not as upbeat as Chan about the festival. She said she had not bought a single item because the food offerings were no different from what she could find on the mainland, where they were “much cheaper”.
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department posted signs outside the venue saying two football pitches in the park had been closed for maintenance until June 13 and June 23, respectively.
Organisers also reminded visitors before they were granted entry that the display of “propaganda” banners for “discriminatory” political or religious reasons was prohibited.
They were reminded to comply with the law, in particular the domestic national security law, the National Anthem Ordinance, and the National Flag and National Emblem Ordinance.
None of the visitors and businesses interviewed responded to the Post’s questions on the vigil.
